Sri Sankalpa-kalpa-druma

‚r” ‚r” Saºkalpa-kalpa-druma by ‚r” ‚r”mad Vi•vanŒtha Cakravart” æhŒkura PrŒrthanŒ 1. O hey Goddess of V¨ndŒvana ‚r” RŒdhe! You are the ocean of all youthfulness, good qualities, beauty, pastimes of pleasure, good fortune, romantic love and compassion. Please give me Your attention, for there is something that I have to say that You please hear from me: ÒI will become Your dŒs”.Ó You will be in the company of Your beloved ‚r” K¨§Ãa and surrounded by the sakh”s and ma–jar”sÑat that time I will serve You and make You happy. This is my only desire; I donÕt want anything else.

Prado•a-l”lŒ (The first part of the night) 8.24 P.M.Ñ10.48 P.M. 2. After dressing and decorating You with various ornaments, I will take You out on abhisŒra (the secret journey between loved ones for meeting each other). Then, after some time, when You first see K¨§Ãa from a distance, You will become shy and start to return back home. Then, by firmly holding the border of Your outer garment, I shall pull You until we arrive just in front of Hari. For my efforts, all of Your scolding and abusing words I shall enjoy as nectar pouring upon my head.

3. Seeing You thus angry, I will place my head at the feet of that nŒgara (flirtatious romantic) and give an indication for Him to take You away. Then with His two strong arms, ‚r” K¨§Ãa will firmly embrace You. At this time, seeing Your whole body trembling with sŒttvika emotions and Your hairs standing on end, the purpose of my having eyes will become successful.

4. Then ‚r” K¨§Ãa, taking You by the hand, will say, ÒO hey prŒna-priya (dearest of my heart), You please become the decoration of this flower bed.Ó Hearing these words, my happiness will know no bounds. Your voice at this time will become choked up, and speaking falteringly You will say, ÒHey MŒdhava, I am a sat” (chaste woman)Ñlet me go!Ó Then at the very moment You say this, I shall stand by Your side and chastise ‚r” K¨§Ãa.

5. Having the nature of a vŒma-nŒyikŒ, You will hold K¨§Ãa back with Your arms. You will thus be submerged in a waterfall of ecstacy and for some time remain in opposition. Your curling waistlong hair will become loosened and Your garments will become slackened. Seeing You in this condition, my life will become successful.

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Ni•Œ-l”lŒ (The night l”lŒ) 10.48 P.M.Ñ3.36 A.M. 6. Next, You will be lying on the artistic and superbly decorated bed arranged by me. Again and again You will be exclaiming to MŒdhava, ÒNo, no, no!Ó But K¨§Ãa, being the ocean of unlimited l”lŒs, in supreme happiness will make love to You. I will be peering through the window, making the purpose of my eyes again successful.

7. During the time of Your love sporting, I shall remain outside pulling on the ropes of the ceiling fan, and thus mitigate Your fatigue and perspiration. Hearing the sweet sounds caused by Your union will bring a slight smile to my face.

8. Then ‚r” RŸpa Ma–jar”, coming accompanied by a few others, will give the order, ÒLet go of the rope and go pick flowersÓ. Bowing my head, I will accept this order and thus proceed to perform that prescribed sevŒ. I will not be depressed in the least, for having to give up that pleasure of seeing RŒdhŒ and K¨§ÃaÕs l”lŒ in the ku–ja. By following such an order, I will remain the object of dear affection and recipient of grace from ‚r” Tulas” Ma–jar” (‚r” Vi•vanŒtha Cakravart”Õs guru-rŸpa sakh”). For this reason, I will feel exceedingly happy to execute the prescribed sevŒ of ‚r” RŸpa Ma–jar”.

9. I will then proceed to make flower garlands, polish Your necklace and bracelets, and prepare a brush for painting designs on Your body. Next, in the company of the sakh”s I will grind camphor and kuºkuma powder as well as prepare pŒna from cloves, betel nuts and other various ingredients.

10. After the conclusion of CupidÕs battle, ‚r” RŸpa Ma–jar”, ‚r” Raºga Ma–jar”, ‚r” Tulas” Ma–jar” and ‚r” Rati Ma–jar” will proceed into the ku–ja to dress You up again as You were before. At that time, they will motion to me to quickly bring the garlands and other articles before You. 11. Hey V¨ndŒvana é•vari, after dressing You gorgeously from head to foot, K¨§Ãa will become anxious to enjoy You again and approach You desiring to touch Your body. Then with great pride I will raise my eyebrows and chastise K¨§Ãa.

12. By this time ‚r” LalitŒ will arrive. With an intent of catching You off guard, she was thinking of having an opportunity to make some jokes about Your love sporting, but, due to the expertise and quick arrangement of Your dressing by RŸpa Ma–jar” and others, ‚r” LalitŒ becomes surprised to see You decorated beautifully as You were before. Then she mistakenly thinks that there was no love-making. ‚r” K¨§Ãa then takes this opportunity to bluff LalitŒ by pointing to me with His finger and saying, ÒHey LalitŒ! I came with the intent of removing the thorn of RŒdhŒrŒÃ”Õs chastity, but why is this impudent maidservant interfering? This impudent ma–jar” is very busy to see that RŒdhŒrŒÃ” will not mix with Me, and because of her efforts I wasnÕt able to do anything.Ó Hearing these honey coated words of ‚r” K¨§Ãa, the bumblebee of my heart will constantly drink such nectar.

13. Thereafter, hey prŒna-”•vari (goddess of my heart), when You proceed outward from the ku–ja, ‚r” Govinda will be embracing You with His left hand. You will be talking with Your sakh”s and with a bright face enjoying the beauty of the different sites of the V¨ndŒvana forest. I will then proceed behind You with a cŒmara, fanning You as You proceed along the path.

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14. Hey SvŒmini (mistress of my life)! I will follow behind You singing Your glories in the company of the sakh”s, and on the path that You traverse I shall throw flowers. In this way a rainfall of flowers will accompany You at every step.

15. Next, along the way, K¨§Ãa will take the opportunity to sit You down and with His own hand decorate You with different types of flower ornaments. Then I will also decorate You with a poem that I composed myself. In other words, I shall recite a poem about K¨§ÃaÕs decorating You with flowers in the company of the more sophisticated sakh”s, giving them happiness.

16. In that place where the rays of the moonlight filter through the branches of the trees and where the bees constantly sing Your glories, being attracted by the sweet fragrance of the kadamba flowers, there You will begin Your rŒsa-l”lŒ on the banks of the YamunŒ in great happiness. At this time I, being an expert player of the v”ÃŒ (which I learned from You), will play on to accompany Your dancing.

17. O hey goddess of V¨ndŒvana! When You finally bring Your rŒsa-l”lŒ to a close and then with Your prŒna-vallabha (heartÕs beloved) come to take rest in a ku–ja of newly blossomed mŒlat” flowers, at that time I will bring freshly cut fruits such as mango, pomegranate, bananas and grapes, as well as various fruit drinks and serve them to You. 18. Hey RŒdhe! On a bed (fit for the sporting of Cupid) which has been so expertly arranged with the petals of lotus flowers by my guru-dev”, ‚r” Tulas” Ma–jar”, we shall lay You and K¨§Ãa down to rest. At this time I will be bright faced and smiling in the matter of offering fresh pŒna for the both of You. 19. O hey goddess of my life! I will then begin to massage Your feet. With my long braids of hair I shall touch those feet. Then I shall smell the fragrance of Your feet and thus be submerged in an ocean of happiness. I shall also saturate my eyes with the dar•ana of Your lotus feet. Then I will hold those feet and rub them on my breasts, and finally, after looking to see that no-one is watching, I shall kiss those lotus feet of Yours.

Ni•Œnta-l”lŒ (The l”lŒ at the end of the night) 3.36 A.M.Ñ6.00 A.M. 20. Hey RŒdhe! At the end of the night You and Your dearest loved oneÕs hair and jewellery as well as nose ornament will be all caught up together. Seeing this situation, I shall awaken my dearest sakh”s (the disciples of Vi•vanŒtha Cakravart”) and we shall all arrive there on the scene.

21. Then, after showing my dearest sakh”s all of these knots and snags, they will begin to untangle You from K¨§Ãa, being absorbed in an ocean of bliss. Hearing the sounds of their ankle-bells however, You may awaken from sleep. Looking about anxiously You will be slightly embarrassed and try to sit up. At that time I will worship You. 22. O hey SvŒmini! When You see the priya-sakh”s, You will feel shy and anxious. When You try to get up, however, due to being entangled You will not be able. At this time I will manifest supreme dexterity and with my fingers quickly unloosen all of the knots.

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23. First I will untangle Your nose-ring. From your two earrings I shall also untangle the strands of K¨§ÃaÕs hair, and Your golden necklace I shall also loosen from His. Hey Devi! One strand of Your hair is more dear to me than my life millions of times over, so bearing this in mind I shall be especially careful to see that I do not cause You any discomfort while untangling all of Your hair.

24. Hey V¨ndŒvana é•vari! When You leave the ku–ja and proceed homeward, I shall briefly give up Your association to follow behind K¨§Ãa. When K¨§Ãa thus comes into the camp of CandrŒval” and her sakh”s, He will find her to be in a kandita condition (angry for having been stood up the previous night). Before K¨§Ãa gets a chance to make up with her, I shall boldly describe all of the previous nightÕs pastimes that K¨§Ãa had with You.

PrŒtaú-l”lŒ (Early morning l”lŒ) 6.00 A.M.Ñ8.24 A.M 25. With scented water I will wash Your face, with a mango twig I will brush Your teeth and with a golden tongue scraper I shall clean Your tongue. Then with a damp cloth I shall again freshen up Your face and show a mirror.

26. Hey Devi! For Your bath I shall cover You in a thin white cloth and remove all of Your ornaments. Then I shall proceed to rub Your body with a scented cooling reddish oil. Later I shall remove that oil with another oil substance produced from fresh kuºkuma powder, camphor and various other scents.

27. Then next I shall bath You, pouring scented water from a golden lo Πand with a fresh towel dry off Your body. Then carefully I will dry Your wet hair with the smoke of burning aguru crystals, making Your hair more fragrant.

28. Next I shall dress You in the outfit of Your choice and then comb Your hair with a golden comb. I shall also braid Your hair with various jewels and flowers.

29. Hey Devi! I shall place a crown-jewel on the top of Your head. Just above Your forehead I shall set an ornament that has strings of pearls which will hang above both sides of Your face. On Your forehead I shall decorate You with tilaka and other designs. Your eyes I shall further decorate with kŒjjala, Your ears with jewelled earrings, and from the bottom of Your nose I will hang a beautiful pearl.

30. Hey Vraja-sundari (most beautiful one of Vraja)! On Your cheeks I shall paint pictures of dolphins, and on Your chin I will put a small black dot of kastŸr”. On Your breasts I will paint other various designs. On Your arms I shall attach a special arm bracelet and on Your wrists, bracelets made from blue sapphires.

31. Hey RŒdhe! Then I will further proceed to cover Your hands with golden chains and rings, a special locket I shall place around Your neck. Then I shall cover Your breasts with a blouse which is embroidered with pearls hanging from it. A fresh flower garland will then be put around Your neck accompanied by a jewelled necklace.

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32. Hey Devi! Next, over Your buttocks I shall hang a golden chain attached with small golden ringing bells (kiºkiÔ-mŒlŒ). On Your feet I shall put ankle bells that attach to Your toes with chains that jingle. Even though the bottoms of Your feet are naturally red, I shall apply alta mixture, making them even redder.

33. Your body is naturally very sweet smelling, but to further enhance that sweetness I will anoint You with a fresh kuºkuma mixture. Then in Your right hand I shall place a blue lotus flower and at last bring a jewelled mirror and show You Your supremely enchanting spiritual form.

34. At the time of viewing Your incomparable beauty, You will become anxious, concluding that this beauty is befitting to attract the restless bumblebee eyes of MadhusŸdana. Then, with my eyes filled with tears of happiness, I shall offer my life force millions of times over to You in an Œrati performed with a camphor lamp.

35. Hey Devi! You will then proceed to K¨§ÃaÕs house in the morning to do the cooking for Him as requested by mother Ya•odŒ. When You proceed on Your way surrounded by KundalatŒ and Your dearest sakh”s, I shall follow behind holding a container of fresh pŒna and happily fan You with a cŒmara that has a jewelled handle.

36. When You arrive at the house of Go§ h”•var” (mother Ya•odŒ), You will fall at her feet offering praÃŒma. She will then inquire about Your well-being and with her tears flowing onto Your body, will smell Your head. Seeing You feeling shy at this instance, I shall also offer my obeisances at the feet of mother Ya•odŒ.

37. Next mother Ya•odŒ will say, ÒOh beautiful RŒdhe, You are directly the very form of tapasyŒ for the dynasty of V¨§abhŒnu RŒja and when You come into my house, You are also the embodiment of good fortune, as You have received the boon from DurvŒsŒ Muni.Ó (i.e. Whatever RŒdhŒrŒÃ” will cook will increase the lifeÕs duration of whoever shall eat it, plus this food will be more tasteful than nectar.) Hearing these words of K¨§ÃaÕs mother, I shall smile.

38. Hey goddess of my life! After K¨§Ãa is bathed and nicely dressed and decorated in the morning

by His servants in another part of the house, I shall understand Your restlessness for getting an opportunity to take His dar•ana. At this time I shall arrange to take You to a place from where, being unnoticed by others, You will be able to see Him. 39. Next I shall wash Your feet and remove the ornaments from Your body that will disturb Your cooking work. At that time You will remember my cleverness for arranging Your dar•ana with K¨§Ãa and joyfully say to me, ÒHey kiºkar” (dŒs”)! You take these ornaments.Ó Hearing these words, my face will blossom like mŒdhav” flowers in the springtime.

40. After finishing four categories of food preparations, including spinach, dahl, fried items and sweet rice, Mother Ya•odŒ will say to You to go forward and serve these preparations to K¨§Ãa. You will then repeatedly say, ÒNo, no, no!Ó When will I see You in this circumstance?

41. Hey Devi! When You witness K¨§ÃaÕs dining in full satisfaction through the holes of the decorated kitchen window, Your body will take on a special effulgence, being pierced by the arrows of Cupid. My mind will also bathe in the ecstasy of that scene of Yours.

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42. Thereafter Mother Ya•odŒ will say, ÒHey RŒdhe! O child, auspicious one, this house is Your house. How is it possible for me to consider You different from my own family members? You please now take Your meal in front of me.Ó After hearing these words from Vraja é•vari (Mother Ya•odŒ), the sweet pure smile that will manifest on Your face will always remain fresh in my mind.

Purbhana-l”lŒ (The mid-morning l”lŒ) 8.24 A.M.Ñ10.48 A.M. 43. In the mid-morning, when Your prŒna-vallabha (heartÕs beloved) will start to leave home accompanied by the cowherd boys to graze the cows in the forest, His mother and father will be left behind crying loudly in His absence. After taking dar•ana of this scene You, shall proceed back to the house of Your mother-in-law, Ja ilŒ. She will after a short time again send You out into the forest to perform sŸrya-pŸjŒ (worship of the sun-god). At that time I shall follow behind You.

Madhyana-l”lŒ (The l”lŒ at midday) 10.48 A.M.Ñ3.36 P.M. 44. After entering the forest and seeing K¨§Ãa from a distance, You will begin to pick flowers. I will then follow behind You and collect all the flowers that You have picked in a flower basket. When K¨§Ãa approaches You, He will ask, ÒWho is this thief?Ó You will then answer, ÒNobodyÓ. After hearing such talk between You and witnessing K¨§ÃaÕs loving glances, I shall take shelter of You. 45. Then K¨§Ãa will look at me and say, ÒHey thief! How many flowers have you stolen? Let Me see!Ó At hearing this I will hide the flower basket behind my back. Then He will try and snatch the flower basket by force from my hands. At this attempt I shall become very unhappy.

46. Then I will scream out ÒHey Devi! Today please protect this surrendered maidservant of Yours!Ó In this way I shall beg for Your shelter. At this instance You will say to K¨§Ãa, ÒHey dishonest cheater! Why are You giving trouble to My ma–jar” ?Ó Saying these words, You shall give K¨§Ãa a slap on the shoulder.

47. K¨§Ãa will then give up His attempt to grab me and direct His attention to You by first tearing Your blouse. He will next remove Your flower garland and place it around His own neck, saying, ÒHey thief ! Are all of My flowers meant for making Your mŒlŒ? Therefore, I shall be forced to punish Your neck by tightly embracing it.Ó 48. ÒHey bold one! In a cave in this mountain is the Kandarpa RŒja (the lord of love, Cupid). Let us go there and he will order Me to remove Your dress. When he thus sees You in such a condition, he will happily present Me with a pearl necklace for My forehead.Ó The purport of K¨§ÃaÕs words are: ÒI will take You to a cave and We will perform kandarpa-keli (CupidÕs sporting). At this time, Your perspiration will fall onto My forehead in such a way that it will appear that I have been decorated with a row of pearls.Ó

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49. Then You will say, ÒHey K¨§Ãa! You may be the son of the king of Vraja, but since You have become the servant of that wicked Kandarpa RŒja, Your intelligence has become polluted. This is not Your fault, however. This is the fault of the bad association that You keep. As far as what will decorate this chaste womanÕs (RŒdhŒrŒÃ”Õs) forehead, that is known by the creator.Ó 50. Hey Devi! In this way I shall hear the words of nectar of both of You in great satisfaction. I shall behold the exquisite beauty of Your forms and movements at such a time also. Then I shall proceed to describe such sporting behaviour in the society of the sakh”s to also give them pleasure.

51. Thereafter, hey RŒdhe! When You arrive at the banks of RŒdhŒ-kuöa in the company of Your dearest lover, ‚r” K¨§Ãa, You will then together sit on a colourfully designed flower-decorated hin¶olin (swing). At first I will swing You. Next, I will throw the collected pollen of fragrant flowers over the both of You. Then I shall sing Your glories, and at last I shall enchant You by playing the v”ÃŒ.

52. O RŒdhe! At the base of the desire trees is the Yoga-pi ha Mandira. When You get up on the jewelled siµhŒsana with Govinda, at that time I shall fully worship You with padya, arghya, incense, camphor, a lamp and four types of bhoga (food preparations).

53. Hey Devi! At Govardhana, when You enter the Basanta forest (the forest which manifests the spring season), You will prepare Yourself for the hol”-kela (throwing of coloured dyes). After discarding Your shyness, You will take with You hundreds and hundreds of sakh” soldiers with the intention of defeating ‚r” K¨§Ãa in the battle of throwing coloured dyes. At this time I shall supply You ammunition produced from the juice of fragrant flowers.

54. Then K¨§Ãa will shout out a challenge to You: ÒHey RŒdhe! Here I am standing in front of You opening up My chest. If You are bold enough let Me see You smash My chest with Your flower bullets, and in Your heart if You also possess any courage, let Me see You open up Your blouse and bravely stand before Me!Ó 55. Hearing these words, You will say, ÒHey K¨§Ãa! It is Your nature to show off with great pride.

We have heard from PaurÃamŒs” that in Your previous life You were known as ÔAjitaÕ (unconquerable). This talk, however, is completely false because in the company of My sakh”s and ma–jar”s I have defeated You many times, but still You continue to boast and remain arrogant.Ó 56. Hearing such conversation, my body will erupt with goose pimples. I will then echo the sound of Your jingling bracelets while playing the dun-dubhi instrument, praising Your sporting as it progresses from face to face, then hand to hand, then nail to nail and finally tooth to tooth.

57. After the conclusion of hol”-kela, You will come to rest with K¨§Ãa and the sakh”s under the shade of the trees in a valley beside Govardhana Hill. At that time I shall collect a pot of honey from the vana-dev”s (the forest damsels, i.e. V¨ndŒdev”) and place that pot of honey before You. 58. Upon drinking the intoxicating honey, You will say, ÒHey! This wo-wo-wo-world is tur-turturning, the tr-tr-trees are sh-sh-shaking! I am af-af-afraid!Ó In this way You will embrace K¨§Ãa around the neck for protection.

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59. Then K¨§Ãa will say to me, ÒYour swŒmin” is dizzy, but I know how to free Her from Her illness. You please step out for a moment.Ó Hearing these sweet words, I shall step out and hide behind the foliage of the bushes to have a peek at Your prema-keli.

60. Next, during the jala-keli (water sporting) at RŒdhŒ-kuöa, You will defeat K¨§Ãa by splashing water in His nose, eyes, ears and face. Then He will submerge under water like an alligator. All of those things that He will do to You at that time I will be able to understand by witnessing the expressions on Your face.

61. After the water sporting, I shall take all of my sakh”s with me and massage the two of You with oil, then bathe You, then dress You attractively, then serve You various fruits and at last lay both of You down to rest on a flower bed in a cottage of jewels.

62. While resting, You will get to play a trick on K¨§Ãa. You will then hide Yourself in a betasiku–ja. When K¨§Ãa gets up to look for You, I will smilingly say, ÒHey K¨§Ãa! ‚r” RŒdhikŒ Dev” is hiding in this betasi-ku–jaÑwhy are You looking here and there?Ó K¨§Ãa, however, will not believe in my true words and go to search for You elsewhere. Then, showing K¨§ÃaÕs bewilderment to You, I will give You enjoyment.

63. Next, when You go to search after K¨§Ãa, I will say, ÒHey SvŒmini! K¨§Ãa is hiding in this kadamba-ku–jaÑwhy are You looking elsewhere?Ó You will then believe my true words and therefore find K¨§Ãa. In this way I will assist in Your frolicking of hide and seek.

64. After hide and seek, both of You will become absorbed in pŒsŒ-kela (a type of game played on a board). K¨§Ãa will say to You, ÒHey RŒdhe! What shall We place up as a bet? I say to You that if You lose, You must give Me a kiss, and if I lose, I will give You a kiss. Look, between rasika couples there is no higher form of betting than embracing and exchanging kisses.Ó 65. To that statement of K¨§ÃaÕs, You will answer, ÒHey K¨§Ãa! Here at Govardhana there is one friend of mine named Bhriºg” who is the daughter of a pulinda (aborigine). She may stand in on My behalf in the matter of winning or losing the bet.Ó 66. After saying this to Your kŒnta (lover), You will motion to me for bringing Bhriºg” by saying, ÒGoÓ. I will then quickly proceed to bring her and place her sitting right before K¨§Ãa. At that time, K¨§Ãa will become embarrassed and all of the sakh”s will laugh.

67. Then K¨§Ãa will give up the idea of exchanging kisses for the betting and will put up His flute for the first wager. After losing, however, K¨§Ãa will become morose. Then the sakh”s laughingly will say, ÒHey K¨§Ãa! Here in V¨ndŒvana You had one wife (the flute), but shame, shame! You donÕt have the capacity for keeping her. We can see now that after being kissed for so long by Your lips, she has left You for searching out a new loverÑthis is most astonishing!Ó 68. Hearing the laughing words of the sakh”s, K¨§Ãa will then say, ÒMy flute is chaste, filled with good qualities and fortunate. It is you sakh”s however who are unchaste, and being envious of not having the qualities that she has, have kept her bound up in some secret place. For this reason I shall bind all of you in My arms and keep you locked up in a nearby cave.Ó

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69. After K¨§Ãa says this, He will start to attack You, and on the pretext of looking for His flute, His hands will begin to wander all over Your body. Just beforehand, however, I shall remove the flute which was concealed by Your breast and hide it somewhere else. When He will thus take up CupidÕs battle, I will see Him giving pleasure to You. 70. Later, at the time of sŸrya-pŸjŒ, K¨§Ãa will appear dressed up in the disguise of a brŒhmaÃa.

Then Ja ilŒ will say to K¨§Ãa, ÒHey brŒhmaÃa! I have the desire that You will engage my daughterin-law in sŸrya-pŸjŒ. Will You accept Her?Ó Saying this, Ja ilŒ will make You fall at the feet of the disguised brŒhmaÃa, K¨§Ãa, offering praÃŒma. She will then offer Your hand to His. At the time of seeing this amusement, a slight smile will manifest on my face.

71. After sŸrya-pŸjŒ, fearing the ill words of Your family members and respectable elders, You will be in a hurry to return home. At this time, You will be very anxious to get a last look at K¨§Ãa while returning in the company of Ja ilŒ. Knowing Your mind, I shall purposefully remain lagging behind so that You will have a chance to look backwards to call me, saying, ÒCome, come.Ó Then You will be able to drink the nectar from K¨§ÃaÕs sweet face for a few moments more.

72. In the late afternoon, when You arrive home, You shall be burning in the fire of separation from K¨§Ãa. At this time I shall lay You down on a fresh flower bed. After a short time, when this bed becomes too hot due to Your intense burning separation, I shall anoint You with cooling camphor and candana, as well as lay You in a different and more cooling bed made from the wet stems of lotus flowers.

AparŒhna-l”lŒ (The late afternoon l”lŒ) 3.36 P.M.Ñ 6.00 P.M. 73-74. Hey RŒdhe! When the sakh” named Candana-kala arrives from K¨§ÃaÕs house with the request from mother Ya•odŒ for You to prepare sweets for K¨§ÃaÕs evening bhojana (meal), at that time You will be overjoyed. I will then wipe Your stove with fresh cow dung and supply You a clean frying pan, as well as help You keep Your fire going. For the purpose of making karpura-keli, la¶¶hus and other sweets I shall help You by supplying water, ghee, sugar cane molasses, bananas, black pepper, camphor, ground coconut and other ingredients.

75. Then, joking with You, I will say, ÒHey RŒdhe! When I put cooling candana and camphor on Your body to relieve the heat of Your separation from K¨§Ãa, You only became more heated, but now I see that Your fire of separation from K¨§Ãa has become extinguished in the fire that You are using to cook His sweets.Ó 76. ThereafterÑÒThe sounds of K¨§ÃaÕs mooing cows are approaching. The sky is becoming dark with the dust raised by their hooves.Ó This sweet news I shall relate to You, and then You shall immediately drop all work and proceed with me to the edge of the forest to have a brief dar•ana of K¨§Ãa as He passes by on His way homeward with the cows and cowherd boys.

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77. I shall bring You to the side of the path along which K¨§Ãa will pass. Hey é•vari! When K¨§Ãa comes, He will momentarily hide Himself in a bush. I will then make You angry with me for pulling You into this same flower bush also. In this way, I shall relieve You from the pain that You were feeling from being separated from K¨§Ãa.

78. Then I will invite the bees of K¨§ÃaÕs eyes to drink the honey from Your beautiful face which is like a blooming lotus flower, and likewise I shall also cause the cakor” birds of Your eyes to drink the nectar from K¨§ÃaÕs effulgent moonlike face. In this way, I shall keep Your life-force intact by submerging You in the ocean of K¨§ÃaÕs sweetnesses.

‚ayahna-l”lŒ (The evening l”lŒ) 6.00 P.M.Ñ 8.24 P.M. 79. After witnessing the extraordinary sight of the two of You melting at the instance of each others dar•ana, I shall bring You back home by the order of LalitŒ-dev”. Then, in the company of a few sakh”s, I shall take the karpura-keli, am¨ta-keli, la¶¶hus, and so forth to the house of ‚r” K¨§Ãa.

80. Upon arriving there, I will offer praÃŒma to mother Ya•odŒ. When she asks me about Your welfare, I shall inform her that You are well. Then, when she sees the la¶¶hus and other sweets, she will begin to praise Your good qualities before all of the sakh”s present. I will hear all these praises with an overjoyed heart.

81. When K¨§Ãa arrives back from the go§ ha (grazing the cows), Mother Ya•odŒÕs happiness will know no bounds. The tears from her eyes and milk from her breasts will saturate her son. For K¨§ÃaÕs bath, Ya•odŒ will engage several household maid servants and also ask me to help. For this I will offer prayers to Mother Ya•odŒ within my mind.

82. K¨§Ãa, after bathing, dressing, and decorating Himself, will sit down to have some refreshments. Mother Ya•odŒ will then affectionately serve Him and the sakhŒs various delicious appetisers. After K¨§Ãa gets up, unseen by others, I shall pick up the remaining prasŒda that is left on His plate.

83. Hey Devi! I will then bring the medicine for curing Your illness of K¨§ÃaÕs separation. First I will offer K¨§ÃaÕs prasŒda to You. Then I will tell You all about His bathing, taking meal, and so on. In this way, I shall give relief to Your eyes, ears, and heart.

84. For the purpose of taking bath, You shall enter the waters of PŒvana-sarovara at NandagrŒma.

K¨§Ãa will also be taking bath from another ghŒ a. K¨§Ãa will then submerge Himself and swim all the way across the lake under water to embrace You and again return under water to surface where He was.

85. Even though Your mother-in-law, Ja ilŒ, and sister-in-law, Ko ilŒ, plus K¨§ÃaÕs brother BalarŒma and others will be present, no-one will be able to understand what has happened. But I, understanding everything, will take a few sakh”s with me and relate about K¨§ÃaÕs cleverness to LalitŒ.

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86. Thereafter, I shall take You up on the candra-sala (the highest room situated like a turret above the palace) which is located above a flower garden. From that room I will show You, from a great distance, K¨§Ãa engaged in milking the cows at NandagrŒma. Receiving the dar•ana of Your priyatam (dearest loved one) will again submerge You in an ocean of joy.

87. Hey Devi! Mother Ya•odŒ, after giving K¨§Ãa His evening meal, will put Him to rest. Just at that time I shall arrive there and from a secluded place tell Him about Your intense condition. I will also hear from Him where the saºke a-ku–ja (the arranged secret meeting place) will be. Upon returning back, I shall inform You about K¨§ÃaÕs anxiousness for meeting You, plus where the saºke a-ku–ja will be.

88. O hey Mad”•var” (goddess of my life)! At last I shall dress and decorate You as befitting for the time (i.e. for the dark moon fortnight, deep blue, and for the fortnight of the waxing moon, swan white). Then I shall proceed to take You out on abhisŒra within the forest bowers of desire trees, wherein You will again meet up with Your prŒÃa-kŒnta, ‚r” K¨§Ãa. At this time You will be absorbed in the ocean of CupidÕs happiness by various means of sporting pastimes, all arranged by me.

PrŒrthanŒ and Vij–Œpati (Prayer and submissive notice) 89. O hey ‚r” Tulas”! O hey great karuÃa-mandakin” (heavenly Ganges of mercy)! Because at one time you placed your lotus feet on my head and I was fortunate enough to drink a small portion of your caraÃŒm¨ta, for this reason such desires have arisen in my heart.

90. My mind and heart are covered with hundreds of faults and at the same time within that same heart, all of these intense desires have taken birth. Just see how much difference there is between these two directions. But hey, Tulas”! At this time your causeless mercy is the only hope for this destitute maidservant of yours. Even though I am an offender, it is due to your influence only that such desires have come to me.

91. O hey Raºga Ma–jar”! You please be merciful to me! O hey Prema Ma–jar”! You please also grace me by your glance of compassion. O hey VilŒsa Ma–jar”! You please give me shelter at Your lotus feet, and give me the eligibility to be a maidservant of ‚r”mat” RŒdhŒrŒÃ” in the company of the other sakh”s and ma–jar”s.

92. O hey ManjŸlŒl” Ma–jar”! You are always eligible to perform sevŒ to RŒdhŒ and K¨§Ãa. Therefore, you are incomparable. Please be favourable towards me! O hey GuÃa Ma–jar”! I offer my praÃŒma to youÑplease be merciful! O hey Rasa Ma–jar”! You are filled with nectarÑplease uplift me!

93. O hey Bhanumati! You are always submerged in the incomparable ocean of prema-sevŒ to RŒdhŒ and K¨§Ãa. You please also accept me and award me a similar position. O hey Lavaºga Ma–jar”! You have fallen into the current of the river of RŒdhŒ Govinda prema-sevŒ also. You please just one time manifest the rains of your heartfelt pure glance of mercy over me.

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94. O hey RŸpa Ma–jar”! Your mind is always colourfully decorated within the mellows of RŒdhŒ GovindaÕs sporting activities. I have anticipated with determination that I will at some time receive the glance of your mercy. In the matter of attaining the fulfilment of my desires, your mercy stands supreme over all other considerations.

95. O hey Deva! Son of King Nanda! By always embracing the body of the daughter of King V¨§abhŒnu, Your own body has become golden like Hers, and similarly Your heart has also become compassionate like Hers. Due to Her constant association, You have thus become the jewel of mercy, ‚r” Gaurasundara. Therefore, O Prabhu, please fulfil my desires in this connection.

96. In this V¨ndŒvana, it is a specially known fact that without the mercy of LalitŒ-sakh”, the service of RŒdhŒ and GiridhŒr” will not be possible. O hey LalitŒ! After hearing these words, I have firmly decided to take shelter of you. You please kindly bestow your glance of mercy upon me.

97. O hey bestower of benedictions, O causelessly merciful Vi•ŒkhŒ! Within the society of the beautiful damsels of Vraja, you are the closest replica of ‚r”mat” Herself in the matter of form, qualities, nature, and age. Therefore, overlooking my hundreds of offences, you please be kind upon me and accept me as your dŒs”.

98. O hey all of you priya-sakhŒs (cowherd boys) and priya-narma sakh”s (ma–jar”s), you are all more dear to RŒdhŒ and K¨§Ãa than Their very lives. Let the dust of all your lotus feet become an abhi§eka upon my head.

99. O hey crown of V¨ndŒvana! King of mountains and worshipable by the residents of V¨ndŒvana, ‚r” Govardhana! By residing in front of you, from my stone-like heart the creeper of all these desires has taken birth.

100. O hey RŒdhŒ-kuöa! You belong to ‚r”mat” RŒdhŒrŒÃ” and are like Her in many ways. I will reside on your banks. It is from drinking your waters that all of these desires have come to me.

Indeed, it is you who are the maintainer of all these desires as well, and it will be also by your grace that all of these desires become siddha (reach perfection).

101. O hey Yoga-pi ha (area of V¨ndŒvana situated around desire trees)! You are known to be the fulfiller of all hankerings, as you have attracted me to remain in front of you by force. So, not considering any other type of spiritual practise, you please quickly fulfil all of my desires.

102. O hey maintainer of the forests of V¨ndŒvana, ‚r” V¨ndŒdevi! As you supply all of the ingredients and paraphernalia for the pleasure-filled l”lŒ of RŒdhŒ Govinda, you are in every respects an empress. Therefore, you please be merciful to me in such a way that I may also be counted among the maidservants of ‚r”mat” RŒdhŒrŒÃ”.

103. O hey husband of UmŒ, O hey Candra•ekhara (one whose head is the residence of the moon)! O hey worshipable by Sananda, SanŒtana and NŒrada Muni, O hey Gop”•vara ‚iva! You are situated within the forest of V¨ndŒvana. I offer my praÃŒma to you. You please award me with causeless unconditional prema for the yugala Vraja-bihŒr”, ‚r” ‚r” RŒdhŒ Govinda.

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104. All of youÑthe faculties of my mind, my feelings and emotionsÑplease engage yourselves in solitary worship of ‚r” V¨ndŒvana. If you are not able to relish the taste from the ocean of RŒdhŒ and K¨§ÃaÕs pleasure pastimes in V¨ndŒvana, but at the same time cannot free yourself from an intense greed to be able to relish such sweetness, then with full faith (or even without faithÑbut by some means or other) quickly take shelter of this desire tree of my aspirations.

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